Black youth have regressed in acquiring skills in the past 20 years compared to their coloured, Indian and white counterparts, statistician general Pali Lehohla said on Monday.

"Black youth between the ages of 25 and 34 lost out in acquiring skills through the 20-year period, and that is the crux of the issue of youth unemployment," he said in presenting a report on youth unemployment from 1994 to 2014.

Youth unemployment was at 36.1%, with jobless youth making up 75% of the country’s unemployed, Lehohla said.

There were various causes for the inadequate skills development, Lehohla said.
These included the apartheid legacy, the closure of teacher and nursing training colleges, weak administration in education (such as the non-delivery of textbooks), ineffective teaching, and the role of parents in the education of their children.